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December 14, 2006

The Deal

Both the 2009 and 2010 base salaries wouldincrease to $10 if Matsuzaka:a) wins the Cy Young in 2007 or 2008;b) finishes in the top 3 in Cy Young votingin 2007 and 2008;c) wins the AL MVP in 2007 or 2008; ord) finishes in the top 5 in AL MVP votingin 2007 and 2008.

Both the 2011 and 2012 base salaries wouldincrease to $12 if Matsuzaka:a) wins the Cy Young in 2009 or 2010;b) finishes in the top 3 in Cy Young votingin 2009 and 2010;c) wins the AL MVP in 2009 or 2010; ord) finishes in the top 5 in AL MVP votingin 2009 and 2010.

The agreement also includes travel from Japan for Matsuzaka and his family, plus provisions for a trainer, a masseuse, an interpreter, an assistant and housing.

[T]he Red Sox appear to have won this one by knockout. There is really no other way to look at it. ... Matsuzaka's average annual salary [stands] at $8.67 million, only a shade more than the Sox are paying Matt Clement.

Matsuzaka may have had additional incentive. According to rumors that appear to have originated in Japan, word may have reached him that the Lions, who are counting on the enormous cash infusion from the Sox, were considering sending him to the minor leagues if he returned. That would have set back his free agency by another year.

The Sox also got a thumbs-up from former major league third baseman Mike Pagliarulo, who for years has run a sophisticated scouting service for international players, with emphasis on the Pacific Rim. ...

When asked what he would have recommended as a posting figure for Matsuzaka, Pagliarulo said, "Fifty million. That's what I had written down long before the figures came out. That was based on the talent level of the player, the market for the player, and the value of the player to a team."

You can still order downloads of two of Daisuke Matsuzaka's three WBC starts for Japan at MLB.com, which will give you a better idea of his pitching style than the short clips on YouTube.

The Cuba game was the WBC final, after which Dice was named the MVP of the tournament. His first start -- 3/14 v. Chinese Taipei (4-3-1-1-3, 68), which Japan won 14-3 -- is not among the for-sale games.

Just saw the press conference at Fenway on Japanese television-- it was on all the morning news programs here in Tokyo. Japan is buzzing about this deal and Boston as a city is definitely, and finally, "on the map" of the local psyche.

One complaint to the Red Sox management, though. Get poor Daisuke a real translator! The guy they had at the press conference was absolutely abominable. Part of the signing package should include a competent, professional intepreter-- bilingual and bicultural. Any Japanese Studies grad student in Boston could have done a more intelligible job than what I witnessed. Embarrassing to the Sox organization and to Mr. Matsuzaka.